From the Contemporary Poetry Series #2
Originally written in Arabic and translated into French by Nabil El Azan, this is the first full length English-language translation of the beautifully crafted prose poems of Issa Makhlouf. In Mirages, Issa Makhlouf mingles thought, observation and meditation to develop themes of travel and absence, violence and beauty, to question nature, its creatures and mysteries. Here, writing is not a testimony, it is the calling into question of being in communication with itself and its surroundings. It is a journey in quest of the self. Each word is a step towards an always open horizon.
Issa Makhlouf
Alicia F. Lam
Praise for Mirages
Makhlouf’s meditations on fine art, romantic and familial love, war, loss, and death, as well as the sacrifice and transcendence exemplified by the lives of saints, unite to create a rich, alternative world.
— Angele Ellis